After travelling nearly 20,000 kilometres — from one side of the world to the other — Dr. Neil Bose has started the next chapter in his career.
As of Nov. 1, he began a five-year term as Memorial’s new vice-president (research). The Board of Regents approved his appointment in August.
Dr. Bose comes to Memorial from Launceston, Tasmania, a historic riverside city where he most recently served as principal of the Australian Maritime College (AMC), the national institute for maritime education, training, research and consultancy at the University of Tasmania.
First day
After several international flights, and a day to adjust to the various time zone changes, Dr. Bose rolled up his sleeves on day one and met with his immediate staff in the Office of the Vice-President (Research), senior leadership and other members of the university community.
“It’s extremely exciting to start this new challenge,” he said during a conversation with the Gazette. “Memorial is respected internationally for its high-calibre, multidisciplinary research. I am really looking forward to learning more about our groundbreaking work, getting to know our researchers, faculty, staff and students, and helping further build the culture of innovation Memorial is known for around the globe.”
Dr. Bose’s appointment as vice-president (research) is somewhat of a homecoming.
Prior to his move to Tasmania, he was a respected member of Memorial’s research community, where he worked for 20 years.
His affiliation with the university stretches back to May 1987, when he was appointed an assistant professor in the naval architectural engineering program. He also served as director of the Ocean Engineering Research Centre and chair of the ocean and naval architectural engineering program.
‘Rich history and reputation’
In 2003, Dr. Bose was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Offshore and Underwater Vehicles Design in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
Today, he notes that Memorial is at an interesting stage in its development, with numerous visible changes such as new buildings and several under construction, and new labs, offices and programs to support the university’s diverse research activities.
“With those enhancements come incredible opportunities to recruit and retain new faculty members and graduate students who want to come to Newfoundland and Labrador largely because of Memorial’s rich history and reputation of cultivating the next generation of researchers,” he said.
While he’s settling into his new role — and re-acquainting himself with campus and the City of St. John’s — Dr. Bose is eager to meet with members of the senior leadership team within the vice-president (research) portfolio, staff within the research units and members of the wider university community.
“I aim to see Memorial’s research profile grow and plan to provide support to that development.”
“I will be spending quite a bit of time listening and learning,” said Dr. Bose, who plans to visit Grenfell Campus, the Labrador Institute and the Marine Institute in the coming weeks.
“I am extremely interested in the cold climate agricultural research being done at Grenfell and the emphasis on Indigenous research across our campuses and want to see us even more recognized as a world leader in cold ocean and Arctic science, technology and society (COASTS). I aim to see Memorial’s research profile grow and plan to provide support to that development.”
Dr. Bose’s areas of research include marine propulsion, autonomous underwater vehicles, ocean environmental monitoring, ocean renewable energy, ice/propeller interaction and aspects of offshore design.
He obtained a B.Sc. in naval architecture and ocean engineering from the University of Glasgow in 1978 and his PhD, also from Glasgow, in 1982.
You can follow his observations on research and daily life on Twitter by following him at @VPR_Memorial.
